January 19, 2011

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In all my years in Missouri, I was always told that Kansas City area Rep. Sam Graves wasn't interested in higher office.

But here he is telling The Hill he doesn't want to "close the door" on a Senate run next year.

"I certainly wouldn't want to close the door on it. It's something that I look at and kind of evaluate and we'll see what happens," he said. "There's a great opportunity to take back that Senate seat."

Graves could just be playfully dabbling his name out there as a trial balloon, or may just believe Jim Talent's silence about a run leaves the GOP playing field wide open.

Former state treasurer Sarah Steelman remains the only Republican to officially announce a challenge to Sen. Claire McCaskill in 2012. A measure of Steelman's ability to unite the Missouri GOP will be whether she can avoid a top-tier primary opponent.